Juul is set to bring out a new generation of vapes with a special mobile app that has age verification and a parental lock on them.
Many e-cigarette companies have been criticised for how often their products end up in the hands of children, as well as how they are advertised and marketed and their potential health implications, but this would represent something of a novel attempted solution to at least one of the problems.
The company has submitted plans to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asking them to approve its ‘next generation vapor platform’ which will – it claims – curb underage use as well as increase the chances of adults making the switch to e-cigarettes from normal cigs.
Features of the as-yet-unapproved new Juul vape are listed on the company’s website.
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It says the product has a ‘more consistent vapor experience that better competes with combustible cigarettes’, as well as ‘an innovative heating element that improves product performance and temperature-control precision’.
The Bluetooth device also has a bigger and long-lasting battery, and a ‘smart light system’ that tells the user how much battery and e-liquid is left.
It has also created a Pod ID chip it claims prevents illicit fake pods from being used with the system.
The company adds that the device will have ‘a mobile and web-based app that enables age-verification technology, including device-locking, and real-time product information and usage insights for age-verified consumers with industry-leading data-privacy protections.'
As well as that, the device has 'newly-designed, tamper-resistant pods that enable improved aerosol delivery', according to the plans.
The new proposed Juul will also have an 'innovative heating element that improves product performance and temperature-control precision', according to the company's product overview.
Juul’s Chief Product Officer Kirk Phelps said: “Our company DNA is product innovation.
“With our next-generation platform, we have designed a technological solution for two public-health problems: improving adult-smoker switching from combustible cigarettes and restricting underage access to vapor products.
“This is only the beginning of new tech being developed and refined for the U.S. market and abroad to eliminate combustible cigarettes and combat underage use.”
Chief Regulatory Officer Joe Murillo added: “Our next-generation vapor platform PMTA is built on new technology that advances public-health objectives and compelling science that demonstrates a clear public-health benefit, as required to secure a marketing authorization.
“We look forward to engaging with FDA throughout the review process while we pursue this important harm-reduction opportunity.”
The product has been based on the company’s behavioural research in the UK, focusing on adults switching from conventional cigarettes to e-cigarettes.
Juul said that it now ‘looks forward to bringing this new technology to over 28 million adult smokers in the country who continue to smoke combustible cigarettes – the leading cause of preventable death’.
It remains to be seen whether the plans will be approved by the FDA.
Topics: Vaping, Technology
Tom Wood